Shopping While Sick
by Animegod 197
Summary: Chander. Chip is sick with the flu and the fridge needs restocking. Not wanting to leave his angel, Xander decides to take Chip with him to the supermarket. Based on a Tumblr prompt.


This story is Chander (Chip & Xander). It is based on the books, "Baked Love" and its sequel "Brave Love" by the Wattpad user TheCuppedCake.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

A series of coughs penetrated the silence of the large bedroom. A young man with blond hair and sky-blue eyes poked his head out from under the layers of sheets that covered him. He saw a figure come into the room, the one he loved most. The man was tall, had a toned body, black hair and dark grey eyes.

"Angel, are you okay?"

Chip coughed again before covering his head back up. "I think I'm sick…" he mumbled so low that Xander didn't understand him.

He walked over to Chip's bedside and pulled back the covers. He furrowed his eyebrows in concern at what he saw. Chip's face was red and slightly puffy and his eyes had lost their signature shine. The blond let out a big sneeze and wiped his nose.

"No offense Chip, but you don't look so good."

At that comment, Chip pulled the covers back over his head but Xander pulled them off again. He felt Chip's forehead and his expression grew serious.

"You feel warm. I think you might have the flu. Hold on."

He ran out of the room and Chip pulled the covers down enough so he could see out the open door. He saw Xander run past about thirty seconds later and a minute after that, he came back into the room carrying a thermometer and a young woman came in behind him. She had brown hair that went just past her shoulders, blue-grey eyes and lithe frame.

"Is Chocolate Chip sick Xandie?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, I think he is Giselle. That's why I'm gonna take his temperature." He walked over to Chip again. "Open your mouth Angel."

Chip did as he was told and Xander put the device under his tongue. After a few seconds, it beeped and Xander pulled it out.

"37.9 degrees. You definitely have a fever."

Chip moaned in a combination of discomfort and disappointment.

"I was planning on going to the supermarket today since our fridge is practically empty, but there's no way I'm leaving you here alone in your condition."

"I can take care of Chocolate Chip!" Giselle piped up excitedly.

Xander turned to her and smiled. "I'm sure you could, but I'd rather do it because whoever's taking care of him has to be physically close to him and the flu is contagious. If someone's going to get sick, I'd rather it be me than you."

"I'll be fine here. I can still get up and get whatever I need," Chip said in a weak voice.

"Forget it Angel. You're coming with me to the supermarket."

"B-But you just said that I'm contagious. If I go with you, I could end up infecting everyone we come into contact with."

"Which is why we're going to wrap you up in several layers of clothing so that doesn't happen."

"X-Xander, really, this isn't necessary-"

"Chip, this is happening; end of discussion," Xander said. His tone was firm but he was still smiling. "Besides, you're not exactly in a position to argue."

Chip sighed in resignation. Xander went into their shared closet and pulled out two coats. One was blue and thin and the other one was thick and white. He also got out a pair of gray sweatpants.

"I want to help," Giselle said.

"Then go to the drawer and get a hat, a scarf and gloves."

She nodded and followed her brother's instructions. Chip slowly got out of bed, another series of coughs wracking his body.

"Let's get you ready. The quicker we leave, the quicker we can get back home," Xander said,

Giselle smiled at Chip. "Don't worry Chocolate Chip. I'll be there the whole time."

"Actually Giselle, you're staying here."

Giselle glared at her brother. "I want to take care of Chocolate Chip!"

"I know you do, but like I said, if someone is going to get sick, I'd rather it be me. And let's face it; you'd be at greater risk than me for getting his bug because you like to get really close to him."

Giselle blew a raspberry at Xander. He rolled his eyes at his sister. As he went to dress Chip, she watched him, still glaring.

"You're not one to talk Xandie, since you constantly talk about wanting to do dirty things with Chocolate Chip."

"She's got a point," Chip said with a teasing smile.

Xander gave him an annoyed look. "Shut up Angel."

* * *

When they got to the supermarket, Xander got out two large baskets. Chip, whose mouth was covered with the scarf, looked at Xander in confusion. He pulled the cloth down.

"Why are you getting two baskets?" he asked.

"Because I don't want you walking around and wasting energy. One basket is for the food and the other is for you to ride around in."

Chip blushed (though it was hard to tell since his face was already red) and huffed in indignation. "D-Do you know how that's going to look?"

"You've done it before. Besides, it's for your benefit."

Chip said nothing. He pulled his scarf back over his mouth and climbed into the second basket, sitting cross-legged.

"Hold on."

Xander ran back to the car and opened the trunk, taking out blankets and a pillow. He went over to Chip, smiling, and covered him with the blankets, one at a time before placing the pillow at the head of the basket.

"There. Now you can rest while I do the shopping. And it reduces the chance of germs spreading. Go ahead and lie back. Go to sleep if you want."

Chip smiled, touched that Xander would go to such trouble for his sake. He pulled the scarf down again and said, "Thank you."

"Anything for my angel."

* * *

Xander went to the produce section of the store first, pushing both baskets with one hand. Chip had felt tiredness envelop him as soon as his head hit the pillow and knew he would succumb to sleep, but while he was still awake, he marveled that Xander was strong enough to guide both baskets with only one hand.

Xander got tomatoes, lettuce, onions, potatoes, bananas, strawberries, oranges, apples, kiwis, pears, grapes, lemons, carrots, peppers and peaches. He looked down at Chip.

"Angel, is there anything else you think we need from here?"

Chip opened his eyes wider and looked over at the other basket. After inspecting its contents, he pulled the scarf down and looked up at Xander. "Maybe grapefruit and pineapples," he said in a soft voice before pulling the scarf back up.

"Alright then."

Xander got the items and was about to go to the next aisle when a woman saw them and smiled. "That's cute. Did he ask you to do this so he would be more comfortable?"

Xander smiled back. "Actually, he's sick so I set this up since I didn't want to leave him home."

"I see. Are you roommates?"

"He's my husband."

"Well, it's very sweet what you're doing."

Xander moved to the next aisle which had spices and condiments. He quickly put ketchup, mustard, salsa and mayo inside and then got Marmite before moving to the spice rack. Xander glanced down at Chip and saw that he was asleep.

 _Guess I'm on my own here._

He picked up allspice, bay leaves, ground cayenne pepper, chili powder, ground cinnamon, cumin, curry powder, garlic powder, ginger, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, black pepper, crushed red pepper, rosemary, a large container of salt, thyme, and vanilla extract.

 _That should be enough._

He went to the next aisle but this one had other people so he couldn't push both baskets through at the same time.

 _Damn it. I'm gonna have to leave Chip here._ He looked down at the sick young man who was still asleep.

"I'll be back as soon as I can Angel," he whispered.

Xander pushed the food basket as fast as he could without running and got pickles, sliced banana peppers, sliced jalapeno peppers, canned corn, canned peas, canned green beans, canned sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin, cherry tomatoes, golden greek pepperoncini, baked beans, chick peas, black-eyed peas, tomato paste, raw pasta and two bags of pinto beans.

Once he got back to Chip, Xander narrowed his eyes in concern at the sight of a teenage boy taking pictures of his angel with a cell phone. He was with a girl his age and a baby was in the front of their basket.

"Excuse me, but what exactly are you doing?" Xander tried to keep his tone even, despite the anger mounting within him.

"He just looks so adorable that we had to take a picture of him," the teen girl said.

Xander smiled at the couple maliciously. "I don't mean to be rude, but that adorable man happens to be my husband and no one takes pictures of him unless he or I allow it. He wouldn't like it if I allowed some stranger to take pictures of him without his knowledge. So you have two choices: either delete any and all pictures you've taken of him right now, or I will take your phone and smash it into pieces."

The boy narrowed his eyes at Xander. "Are you threatening us?"

Xander's smile turned into a scowl and he grabbed the teen by his shirt collar. "It's not a threat. It's a fucking _promise._ "

A yawn turned everyone's attention to Chip, who had woken up. He looked at the scene in front of him before turning toward Xander with a confused expression.

"Xander…what's going on?"

 _Shit._

Shame quickly set in and Xander averted his eyes before letting his captive go. "These people were taking pictures of you while you were asleep. I told them to get rid of the pictures because I didn't want you to be embarrassed."

"Look Jeff, if it's that big of a deal to him, just delete the pictures. We don't want to make trouble," the girl said.

"Fine."

The young girl turned to Xander. "I'm sorry about this. We didn't know he was your husband. If we knew, we would've asked permission."

Xander nodded. "Apology accepted and thank you."

* * *

They skipped the next aisle since it mostly had baking ingredients and as they ran the most famous bakery in town, there was no need for them. The next aisle had kitchen supplies so they skipped that one as well. Instead, they went to the frozen meat section.

"Make sure you get ground beef," Chip said.

"Got it Angel," Xander said as he was getting different meats.

Chip started coughing and Xander hurried to finish. When he was done, they had fish, a bag of chicken parts, sliced turkey, baloney, bacon, pork chops, sausage, ground beef, patties and franks.

"Angel, what's wrong?"

"I-I think this cold is irritating my throat."

"Then let's get you out of here."

"How sweet it is," a female voice said suddenly.

Xander turned and saw a black woman not much older than him smiling at them. "What's sweet?"

"The fact that you call him Angel. He must mean a lot to you if you use that as a pet name."

Xander looked at her in surprise for a moment. Then he gave her a sad smile. "It's not a pet name. I don't call him Angel just as some silly, meaningless term of endearment. I call him Angel because that's what he is to me. It's the only word that even comes close to describing what he is and what he means to me."

"And what does he mean to you?" she asked, still smiling.

Xander felt tears build up in his eyes as he replied. " _Everything._ I couldn't even begin to put it into words."

"I believe you. And I would guess that the way you have him now was an act of love on your part."

Xander nodded. "He's sick and this is my way to take care of him while I'm here since I didn't want to leave him at home."

"It's a rare thing these days to see someone display such love for another and I think it's wonderful."

She gave him one last smile before turning and leaving.

* * *

They went down to the dairy section where Xander got milk, all the different chesses the store had, eggs and ice cream. As they continued down the frozen food section, he picked up broccoli, fries, hash browns, premade lasagna, frozen strawberries, chimichangas, and cheese taquitos. Chip would cough every so often, so Xander tried to get through quickly.

"Xander," Chip called, once they were out of the frozen aisles.

"What is it Angel?"

"Why are you getting ice-cream? You know I can make it myself."

"Yeah, and I love yours, but it's a lot of work to make ice-cream for everyone and I want to give you a break this time since you're sick."

"Do you think we should get some sweets?"

"Like what?"

"Cinnamon rolls, crescent rolls, doughnuts…"

"We don't need to. We run a bakery and we have the ingredients to make all those things. But I guess we could get some pastry cakes."

Chip smiled and blushed slightly before speaking again. "T-Those things you said to that lady about me…d-did you mean them?"

Xander smiled. "Every word. To me, you represent everything good in this world and truly good people are exceedingly rare nowadays. Like I told you before, Hell is empty because all the devils are on Earth. You're an angel living in a world of demons."

"I think you're too cynical," Chip said with a weak smile.

"And I think you're too innocent and naïve, but that's one of the many things I love about you. We complement each other."

They came to the chip and wine aisle and unfortunately, there were others there.

"Angel, I'm gonna have to leave you here, but I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Xander quickly got two bags of chips: one regular and one hot and stuffed them into the food basket before returning to Chip. As they went to the next aisle, which contained bread, grains and soda, Chip looked at Xander nervously. When he spoke, it was with hesitation.

"W-when you said I mean everything to you, what does that mean?"

"It means I could spend the rest of my life talking about what you are to me and what you've done for me and I still wouldn't have covered everything."

"W-Well, let's try to simplify it."

Xander chuckled. "That's impossible."

"Oh my God, are my eyes deceiving me?" a male voice asked.

Xander looked up and saw his old friend Blake, who was grinning like a madman. "Blake? What a surprise running into you here."

"Same, and in much the same situation as last time. Is that Chip I see in one of those baskets?"

"Hi Blake," Chip muttered.

"He's come down with the flu, so I took him with me in order to take care of him," Xander said.

"The lengths you go for that boy. It's almost admirable. I doubt Ace would do something like that for me and I sure as hell wouldn't do it for him."

Xander smiled proudly. "That's because I'm a better man than either of you."

"No, it's because that lovable boy has you completely whipped."

"Whipped? I've never used a whip or a whisk on him," Chip said, looking at Blake in confusion.

Blake balked at the smaller man before laughing. "I swear to God, you have the heart of a child. I have never met someone so innocent." He looked at Xander and shook his head. "How in the world did you fall in love with him?"

Xander smiled. "What can I say? He's an angel."

"X-Xander, this isn't good for the heart," Chip said blushing madly.

"So, I take it you're low on food judging from the way your basket is about to burst."

"Low is an understatement. Our fridge was practically empty. Same with you and Ace?"

"Nah, Ace just wanted to get some more snacks. You wouldn't believe the sweet tooth that man has."

"Why isn't he here with you?"

"He's cleaning the house. That was our deal. Since he wanted to stay home, he had to work." Blake turned to Chip. "Is it warm in there?"

Chip nodded. "It's really comfortable. In fact, I think I'm gonna go back to sleep."

"Before you do that, let me feel your forehead," Xander said.

He placed his hand on Chip's forehead and his eyebrows knotted in concern. "You still feel warm." Chip sneezed just then.

"I guess he really is sick," Blake said.

"Xander, did you think of a simpler way to express what I am to you?" Chip asked, tiredness evident in his voice.

"You were serious about that? Well…now that I think of it, there was a meme I've seen on Tumblr that describes you perfectly and I think you'd agree."

"What is it?"

"You mentioned cinnamon rolls before. That's you. You are a beautiful, precious cinnamon roll too good and too pure for this world."

Blake immediately started laughing. "Beautiful, precious cinnamon roll? I've never heard of anything so cheesy in all my life!"

Xander glared at Blake. "Oh please. It's not like you don't say cutesy shit when you're alone with Ace."

"Nowhere near that level mate," Blake said. "Like I said, completely whipped."

"You know I only act this way around him."

"Exactly."

Xander looked down at Chip who had the scarf back over his mouth and was asleep. He looked back at Blake.

"I'm going to get some wheat bread. Watch Chip while I'm gone."

"What do you mean watch him? You're only gonna be away from him for thirty seconds."

"Blake, please just do this for me."

His friend rolled his eyes. "Alright."

Xander pushed his now very full basket down the aisle and got two loaves of bread as well as white chocolate cakes and brownies. He went back to Blake and Chip.

"Alright, I'm going to get some medicine for Chip and then we'll be ready to go."

"See ya." He turned to Chip. "Bye, precious cinnamon roll."

"Shut up."

* * *

Xander went to the pharmacy section and got the appropriate flu medicine before heading to the least busy checkout. Chip was asleep the whole time and didn't wake up until they were outside.

"X-Xander? Are we done shopping?"

"Yep. Just gotta put the food in the car."

Chip stretched and yawned. "Let me help."

"No, you just get into the car. Someone else is already loading the food into the trunk."

Chip nodded and got out of the basket before climbing into the passenger seat. Once all the food and Chip's makeshift bed were put in, Xander got back into the car and started the drive home.

"Xander?" Chip said softly.

"Yes Angel?"

"Am I really a precious cinnamon roll?" He was smiling shyly, as if he liked the idea.

Xander laughed lightly. "Yes, you are, but I was really just saying it because you wanted me to come up with a shorthand way of describing what you are to me. I don't think I'll be calling you that on a regular basis. Angel sounds much better and it's a more fitting word."

* * *

When they got home, Xander opened the trunk and Chip got out of the car, but Xander stopped him before he could grab a bag.

"Absolutely not, Angel. You're sick, so get to bed. I'll come in later to give you your medicine."

"B-but you got so much at the store. You shouldn't have to carry it in all alone."

"I won't. Giselle can help."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's fine, really."

Chip had another coughing fit and reluctantly went inside. Giselle led him to back to his and Xander's bedroom and after taking off the excess clothing, he climbed into bed.

"Chocolate Chip will feel better tomorrow," she said, giving him a reassuring smile.

"I hope so. Xander wants you to help him with the groceries."

She frowned at that. "Xandie is just too lazy to do it himself." She stalked off, leaving Chip alone.

* * *

It took a half hour before all the groceries were put in their proper place. Once they were done, Giselle went into her room for a nap. Xander went into his and Chip's bedroom carrying a bottle of orange liquid and a spoon.

"The instructions say to take a tablespoon of this every six hours," Xander said.

Chip looked at the label, which said Theraflu. _Sounds like flu medication._

Xander went over to Chip's bedside and carefully poured the medicine onto the spoon. Chip opened his mouth and Xander administered the dose. He placed the bottle on the table next to the bed.

"I'll be back to give your next dose when it's time."

Chip nodded and then smiled that special smile; the smile made out of sunshine, as Xander called it.

"Thank you for everything you did today."

Xander smiled back. "You don't need to thank me. You know I'd gladly do anything for you."

Chip blushed. "Y-yes, I know."

"It just sucks that I can't get too near you without risking getting sick myself. I can't give you love in the way I want to."

"I-it's okay. Giselle said I should feel better by tomorrow."

Xander raised an eyebrow. "Did she now? Well, let's hope she's right. Anyway, I should let you rest." He headed for the door.

"I love you," Chip said.

Xander turned back and smiled softly. "I love you too Angel."


End file.
